Giavazzi Raffaella, Nicoletti Maria Ines
Department of Oncology, Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research, Bergamo, Italy.
Curr Opin Investig Drugs. 2002 Mar;3(3):482-91.
Angiogenesis, or the formation of new blood vessels from preexisting capillaries, is a sequence of events that occurs in many physiological and pathological conditions, including cancer. The identification of several pro-angiogenic factors and the recent description of endogenous inhibitors of angiogenesis, has made interference with vessel formation an attractive potential therapeutic option. Several compounds with anti-angiogenic or antivascular properties have been identified, and several of them have entered patient studies in cancer on the basis of promising preclinical results. However, this development of compounds that are not directly cytotoxic to cancer cells is problematic in terms of trial design and interpretation. This review discusses classes of molecules that interfere specifically with regulatory elements of the angiogenic process, and comments upon their stage of development and characteristics in clinical trials.
血管生成，即从已有的毛细血管形成新的血管，是一系列发生在包括癌症在内的许多生理和病理状况下的事件。几种促血管生成因子的鉴定以及最近对血管生成内源性抑制剂的描述，使得干扰血管形成成为一种有吸引力的潜在治疗选择。已经鉴定出几种具有抗血管生成或抗血管特性的化合物，其中一些基于有前景的临床前结果已进入癌症患者研究。然而，这种对癌细胞无直接细胞毒性的化合物的研发在试验设计和解读方面存在问题。本综述讨论了特异性干扰血管生成过程调控元件的分子类别，并对它们在临床试验中的研发阶段和特性进行了评论。
